Mechanical Planetarium (Orrery)

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Mechanical Planetarium (Orrery)

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P1S
P1P
X1
X1 Carbon
X1E
A1

0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 15% infill
0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 15% infill
Designer
31 h
18 plates
4.8(16)

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Description

This is adaptation of the tuned mechanical planetarium by HackerJack42: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4632441

The original design is by Zippitybamba: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4613061

I've taken this design and laid it out on the plates to help with organization while building. I've also utilized Bambu Lab's “color paint” feature for the planets. Saturn has been adapted to also take advantage of the paint feature on the rings.

 

Bill of materials:

6 - M3x10 self tapping screws: to attach the base floor and support bracket.

3 - M3x10 hex head screws and nuts: to attach the Main axle to the base housing.

7 - M3x10 Hex button head cap screws: to use as set screws for each planetary arm.

4 - Rubber cabinet bumpers as feet for the bottom.

 

The 17 plates are mostly laid out in order of construction. You will need to keep track of components like planetary arms and planetary pegs, but they are generally largest for the furthest planets. Zippitybamba has posted some videos for construction, and Hackerjack42 has a great chart showing the layout of all gears, idler arms, and pegs.

Base construction:

  1. Print the first 3 plates (base components 1, 2, and 3) and plate 5 (finger wheel & Saturn gears) will allow the construction of the base.
  2. To assemble the base, first attach the main axle to the base housing using the hex head screws and nuts.
  3. Flip over the base housing and place the base drive gear in the larger cavity. Insert and hold the Mercury axle into the main axle to align the base drive gear properly.
  4. Place the fingerwheel in the smaller cavity opening. Insert the fingerwheel axle into the fingerwheel gear. Flip the finger wheel support bracket upside down and align the hole with the finger wheel axle cutout. Insert the finger wheel axle through the support bracket and into the finger wheel axle cutout. Ensure the finger wheel gear and the base drive gear mesh properly.
  5. While holding this entire thing upside down, carefully install the base floor, ensuring the finger wheel axle goes into it's guide hole as does the Mercury axle. First insert the screws through the base floor into the support bracket. Then install the other 4 screws.
  6. Flip it over and ensure that the finger wheel can rotate and note that the Mercury axle rotates. If the finger wheel is too tight, loosen the single screw by the finger wheel that is not attaching the support bracket.
  7. Attach the rubber feet to the bottom.

Planetary Gears Installation:

I utilized the chart that HackerJack42 created for installation. Note in the corner it shows the positioning of the idler arms in each tof the 3 possible locations.

I found that for me , to get the next gear (or set of gears) to mesh properly, was to slide the whole already installed gear collection up the main axle, slip the new on into position at an angle to get the herringbone teeth to mesh, then slide the collection back down onto the main axle. The plates are laid out for each planetary set of gears.

Install a set screw into each planetary arm before placing the planetary arm and subsequent gears in place. The screws are a very tight fit. Get the set screw fully threaded, then back it out so you can adjust the planetary arm upon completion of construction.

I also found that there was a little bit of give in the hex interface that had planetary arms on the ring. I placed a very thin piece of sticky tack in each interface, only because I didn't want to risk glue coming in contact with something that is supposed to move.

Each planetary peg needed to be shaved and sanded down to allow for the planet to be installed. I did glue my planet hemispheres together while on their respective peg.

When installing the Moon gear, the Earth peg is all that is needed to hold into against the calendar gear. Ensure that the moon planetary arm sits above the calendar hash marks so that it can spin freely.

After placing the Mercury Cap on top, the Sun peg (longest peg) slides all the way through the main axle down to the base floor.

 

The last plate contains all the planets as a single color if you don't want to use the AMS for multi-color printing.

 

 

Comment & Rating (31)

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0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 15% infill
Great model, no problems with printing. Really very pleasant to assemble, although it's a bit of a puzzle regarding the orientation. It could be improved by discreetly indicating the top from the bottom for each of the pieces (on the inside, perhaps?). Thank you very much!!
The designer has replied
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It looks great and I'm glad you enjoyed the project. Yeah, I had to closely inspect the side view pictures of the 2 previous versions to make sure I installed the gears in the correct direction.
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Sehr schönes Orrery. Saturn und Screw caps von pigaro, https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4946686
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That looks great!
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0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 15% infill
Came out beautifully with essentially zero issues. Just had to file down the posts for each of the planets and the main axle a tiny bit to reduce friction.
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This came out amazingly well. No trouble printing. Instructions for assembly are a little confusing, but it ultimately came together. It would be great to inscribe labels on the pieces to aid in construction. My 6 year old is so excited to learn about the solar system from this thing. https://youtu.be/gogCxaqOAuA?si=KAvbS9yjAb_PwEM2
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0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 15% infill
my favorite print Ever! copper pla silk from bambu matte charcoal PLA from bambu and all the planets are various glow in the dark filaments.
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0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 15% infill
Perfect
(Edited)
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0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 15% infill
Made it for my son who is in Kindergarten to show him how the planets revolve around the sun. He loves it! Great model!
The designer has replied
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I'm so glad your child enjoy it. Anything that inspires young ones to ask questions and explore the world and universe around us makes me happy.
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Anyone else have issues with the top 2 gears being slightly to far apart and the teeth not engaging properly causing it to skip?
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changed the x/y contour compensation to .35 on the mercury arm and it was perfect
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Did I miss something, or is the Mars_IdlerArm missing?
The designer has replied
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Huh, good catch. FYI the Jupiter idler arm and the Mars idler arm are the exact same. I'll upload another version of this profile with the Mar_IdlerArm.
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bei einer Flachen erde wozu ?????
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The crazy paths necessary for an accurate orrery of a Flat Earth would be insane.
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